Mayor's Message

One important responsibility of the Mayor is to assess laws and amendments proposed by the state legislature for impacts to our city, and communicate concern or support to our state representatives accordingly. Certainly one of the biggest challenges facing all cities is the problem commonly known as “unfunded mandates”. These occur when the legislature enacts laws that require municipalities to take certain actions, without providing the funds necessary to ensure compliance. While many of these laws are good ideas in principle, they are costly to implement in practice.

For example, the city recently adopted an updated Critical Area Ordinance in response to new requirements of the Growth Management Act, which stipulates, inter alia, that all such local measures be based on best available science. Most of us agree that it is important to protect our environment in a responsible manner. However, the cost to administer and defend this policy is potentially significant, and it is unlikely that we will receive the financial support from Olympia necessary to help us sustain this requirement over time.

Another challenge is the Public Records Act. Again, we fully support the principle that public records should be available to citizens at their request. However, the cost of compliance can be considerable, as an agency can quite literally be inundated with record requests to a level that service operations might be negatively affected. In these situations, communities with limited resources must simply manage the service disruptions as best they can, or find the funds to acquire additional help.

While under normal circumstances any one unfunded requirement might have a limited impact, the cumulative effects or extraordinary events associated with these types of measures could prove financially ruinous. Like many cities, College Place runs a tight ship. We simply do not have extra funds in reserve ready to be placed at the disposal of the legislature – especially during tough economic times. In this regard, we are blessed to have an excellent legislative delegation that understands the importance of protecting communities from the adverse affects of unfunded mandates.

You can help too. When you speak with Sen. Hewitt or Reps. Walsh and Nealey, let them know that you support their efforts to prevent the enactment of laws that place a financial burden on cities without providing appropriate funding. They need to know that we stand behind them regarding this issue. When you do, you will be supporting your community in an important and meaningful way.

May God bless you.